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Startups developed by Kochi-based Maker Village gain attention of defence organisations
Maker Village is a venture of the Kerala government to incubate startups focused on electronics and hardware production.
Kochi :
Startups incubated by Kochi-based Maker Village are gaining the attention of defence establishments as a high-level team of officials from Defence Production has decided to visit the incubator facility in the coming days. The move will give a thrust for startups in Kochi and elsewhere enter the defence ecosystem. Maker Village is a venture of the Kerala government to incubate startups focused on electronics and hardware production.
Ajay Kumar, secretary, Defence Production, Government of India, who was in Kochi, held a discussion with Maker Village CEO Prasad Balakrishnan Nair on Saturday. The discussions took place on the sidelines of the second edition of Hardtech 2019, a National Deeptech Startup Conclave organised by Maker Village.
Assuring that he will open the doors for startups to defence production, Ajay Kumar said the visiting team will comprise officials from the Army, Navy and Air Force. Earlier, addressing the gathering at the meet, Kumar said his office has, for the first time, been keenly watching startups for solutions of various kinds. “Startups are going to be an important part of our defence ecosystem. Users like the Army and Air Force want them to identify problems and seek ways to resolve them,” he said.
He recalled a Defence India Startup Challenge the government launched last year received 520 outstanding proposals from new companies, much to the encouragement of the plan to leverage defence startups and connect them with the armed forces. “I want startups from Maker Village to feature in the list of next edition of the Defence India Startup Challenge,” he said.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Kochi / by Express News Service / April 03rd, 2019
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A mission to aid autistic children bears fruit
Five of them attend normal schools after training at autism centre
The Autism Care Centre in Thrissur, set up four years ago, has sent five children to normal schools after training them for three years. They joined Class I at various schools last year.
“This was possible because they were sent to the centre when they were three years old,” said Ravi A.S., president of Autism Society, Thrissur, and caretaker of the centre which is run by the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and the Thrissur Corporation.
A survey conducted by Autism Society had found that there were as many as 110 autistic children in 86 schools in the district. The disorder varies from person to person, and each individual requires support in accordance with the needs. It comes under a spectrum of mental health disorders, and it can be managed only by keen observation of the child and understanding his/her needs, Mr. Ravi said.
While intermingling of children is crucial in the growing-up stage, autistic children cannot be trained along with those with other disabilities as they shy away from eye contact and social interaction. They prefer to sit alone and do not speak even if they hear someone calling out to them.
“It is these particular behaviours that we first need to decode in each child at a young age and prepare them to attend normal schools. Training them along with children with other disabilities will only make them go backward,” said Mr. Ravi. The aim of the centre is to make autistic children self-dependent, he added.
Besides toilet training and washing, the children are offered money management training too by taking them for shopping. “We have adults too [over 18 years] at the centre who come here for training. Other therapies like Yoga and meditation too are provided.”
“An important aspect of training is that parents should associate with the children as autism is incurable. However, it can be managed by minimising the disorder by up to 80%,” Mr. Ravi said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kerala / by Shyama Rajagopal / Kochi – April 02nd, 2019